Ninad’s debut production, “The Human Voice”, returns this January with four performances across three venues in Dhaka. The company’s guiding idea is direct: theatre can no longer remain tied to fixed stages—it must move toward its audience.
Produced in collaboration with Alliance Française de Dhaka, the play first premiered in October 2025. It was staged seven times at Alliance Française in Dhanmondi and Biblion Bookstore Café in Mirpur. The new run expands the map, taking the production to different parts of the city to reach viewers who rarely manage long journeys for theatre.
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Performances will be held on January 18 and 19 at the Studio Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Segunbagicha, on January 23 at Satori Academy of Arts in Banani, and on January 30 at Shala Neighbourhood Art Space in Tejgaon’s Aloki. All shows begin at 7 pm.
“The Human Voice”, written by French playwright Jean Cocteau and first staged in 1930, is a one-act, single-character play. It follows a woman speaking to her lover for the last time on the telephone. He is set to marry someone else the next day. Over the course of the conversation, heartbreak, fear of abandonment and emotional collapse slowly surface, turning ordinary speech into a record of loss.
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The play has been translated and adapted into Bangla by Prajna Tasnuva Rubayyat, who also directs the production and oversees its overall design. She has worked for more than 17 years in theatre, teaching, writing and translation.
The role is performed by Sadika Sorna, active in acting and modelling for over two decades. She was second runner-up at the Lux Channel I Superstar competition in 2010. Her background in theatre, training at the Faculty of Fine Arts and long performance career shape an approach that focuses on psychological depth rather than spectacle.
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The production team includes Azmain Ismam on soundscapes, Tanji Kun on scenography, Dhrubo Das on projection visuals, Amit Chowdhury on choreographic composition, and Mokhlesur Rahman on lighting. Costume design has been supported by fashion designer Afsana Ferdousi. Atik Piyal serves as assistant planner, while Sajib Hajra has handled publicity and visual design.
Ninad’s touring plan responds to Dhaka’s everyday realities. Traffic congestion, long work hours and distance often prevent people from travelling to traditional theatre zones such as Segunbagicha, Bailey Road or the university area, even when interest exists.
Director Prajna Tasnuva Rubayyat says theatre growth depends on reaching people where they already are, rather than asking them to cross the city. For that reason, the play has been designed so it can be staged not only in auditoriums but also in galleries and alternative spaces.
By refusing to stay confined to a few established venues, “The Human Voice” questions the closed circuit of the city’s theatre landscape. With one woman, one telephone call and a route that cuts across Dhaka, Ninad is testing a model that treats the city itself as part of the stage.
